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Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do
not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown.
Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact,
cats show no sign of separation anxiety.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln have concluded that cats,
unlike dogs, do not need humans to feel protected.

Before cat lovers start despairing about their aloof pets, however,
animal behaviorists said they should take the finding as a compliment.
If cats stay, it means they really want to be there.

Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine at the
University of Lincoln’s School of Life Sciences, said: “The domestic
cat has recently passed the dog as the most popular companion animal
in Europe.

“Previous research has suggested that some cats show signs of
separation anxiety when left alone by their owners, in the same way
that dogs do, but the results of our study show that they are, in
fact, much more independent than canine companions.

“It seems that what we interpret as separation anxiety might actually
be signs of frustration.” To find out if cats needed their owner to
feel secure, the researchers observed how 20 cats reacted when they
were placed in an unfamiliar environment together with their owner,
with a stranger or on their own.

The study monitored the amount of contact sought by the cat, the level
of passive behavior, and signs of distress caused by the absence of
the owner.

“Although our cats were more vocal when the owner rather than the
stranger left them with the other individual, we didn’t see any
additional evidence to suggest that the bond between a cat and its
owner is one of secure attachment,” Prof Mills said.

“This vocalization might simply be a sign of frustration or learnt
response, since no other signs of attachment were reliably seen. For
dogs, their owners often represent a specific safe haven; however it
is clear domestic cats are much more autonomous when it comes to
coping with unusual situations.”

Although the researchers say cats can still develop bonds with, and
affection for their owners, the new study shows that they do not
depend on them in the same way that dogs do.

However cat expert Celia Haddon, author of Cats Behaving Badly and How
To Read Your Cat’s Mind, said owners should not feel their pets do not
love them. “This study shows cats do not need their humans to feel
safe, they look after themselves. But in a way that’s a real
compliment. Cats won’t live in an unhappy home, they’ll just walk
out.”

Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do
not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown.
Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact,
cats show no sign of separation anxiety.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln have concluded that cats,
unlike dogs, do not need humans to feel protected.

Skimmed it. Not entirely convinced. One eyebrow raiser for me
was the cat/owner pairs had to go to the researchers. Which
means the cat was put in a travel carrier and in fact that's
so stated " All except one of the cats were used to being
transported in a cat carrier" which might have introduced
stress...